1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for sorting diskshaped articles such as coins by diameter size, including a conveying path following upon an isolation means, bridged by an endless entrainment belt and laterally limited by a guide rail with at least one sorting station being arranged along the conveying path.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In such an apparatus as described above, the entrainment belt lying on the coins supplied from the isolating means serves the purpose of conveying the coins on a base plate along the guide rail. Given an apparatus of the type disclosed by German Pat. No. 27 13 844, the sorting stations include sorting openings in a row in the base plate graduated in width based on increasing diameters of the coins to be sorted. Although this known apparatus is simple in structure, a sorting speed limited to only about 2000 coins per minute is possible because of the time required for the coins to fall through the sorting openings in free fall. Further, it cannot be excluded in the known apparatus that, due to bridge formation between a preceeding and a following coin, a middle coin will be prevented from falling through the sorting opening allocated to it, so that it proceeds into the wrong collecting container.
The disadvantage described above can be at least partially eliminated by lengthening the sorting openings. Such an apparatus, however, would make use of an excessive structural length which would have an especially disadvantageous effect given a larger number of coin denominations to be sorted.